Category Archives: Self-Leadership

I love learning from other people, and I especially like getting behind-the-scenes looks at how they do what they do. I have a folder on my computer where I’ve kept examples of people’s weekly schedules. I love asking other pastors about how they do sermon prep. It’s fascinating to ask people what their typical day […]

What’s the best way to exercise? What’s the best way to read the Bible? What’s the best way to teach your children about Jesus? What’s the best way to keep track of your diet? What’s the best way to show appreciation to the volunteers in your ministry? What’s the best way to plan your week? What’s the […]

This summer, our elders graciously gave me (and my family) ten weeks off to enjoy a sabbatical. It was a life-changing experience that I’m deeply thankful for. I’ve been back now for just under a month and continue to process all that we experienced and learned. On my first Sunday back in the pulpit, I shared […]

Do you ever feel like the urgent is crowding out the important? Like there’s so many things that have to be kept up with that you just can’t seem to get ahead? I do. Everybody does. I often talk with other pastors about how ministry is a “black hole” where there’s always more you could do. […]

This past Monday was a special day for our family. Next week our second daughter begins Kindergarten, so it was the perfect time for her to experience her first rite of passage. Simply defined, a rite of passage is “a ceremony or event marking an important stage in someone’s life.” For our family, I’m thinking to […]

I recently finished reading What’s Best Next by Matt Perman, who runs a blog by the same name. The book’s subtitle is “How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done.” It’s the best book I’ve read so far this year. I have read and benefited from a number of productivity-related books (Getting Things Done, […]

Every good dad I know intentionally spends time with his kids. Most dads also think about how to spend good one-on-one time with each kid. But many dads I know want to do daddy dates more often, with more intentionality. They need a plan. Here’s the plan that I’ve been using with my two daughters: We […]

Some things are more important than others. Leadership is required to filter what’s most important and keep first things first. I received this email the other day from the folks at North Point Community Church who run the Drive Conference (We took our team to Drive earlier this year for a great few days of training): […]

I love vacation. Some people never quite use all of their vacation time — I’m not one of them. It’s not that I don’t love my job. I do. But it’s a demanding job that makes time away particularly sweet. This summer I was away for three weeks. The first week was for the annual […]

In a recent post, I argued that there isn’t enough time to do all the things you want to do. I finished by saying: There isn’t enough time. Some things will just not get done. Choosing what to spend your time on — and what not to spend it on — makes all the difference in […]